Valve for can filling machines



Dec. 27, l938. E. RoGE "2,141,618

VALVE 13cml GAN FILLING MAc'HINEs v Filed Nov. i4, 19561 2 sheets-snee; 1

2 Sheets-Sheet '2 E. ROGE VALVE FOR CAN FILLING MACHINES Dec. 27, 1938.

Filed Nov. 14, 1956 y. Patented Dec. 27,1938

UNITED l,sfr-Ari:

VALVE FOB CAN FILLING MACHINES AEdward nage, chicago,

`Cambridge, Mass., a cor- Brothers Company," l poration of Maine Application November Ill., assignor to Lever 14, 193s, serai No. 110,199

. 3 claims. '(01. 22e-'426) portion of the material passing through the nozzle, thereby causing the material which has passed through the nozzle'downwardly into the can to taper off into a comparatively thin tail- Although the valve of thepresent inventionis adapted for use in connection with automatic machines for introducing or feedinga large variety of materials into cans or other receptacles,

it has been especially developed in connection with machines for filling cans with lard-like mavterial, such as hydrogenated cotton seed oil, in

order to prevent at the end of the can nlling operation a vcomparatively large drop or -mass of material falling onto the top of the material in the can and projecting upwardly beyond the plane passing through the uppery rim` of the can. This condition prevails in the usual commercial can filling machine, with theresult that when cansilled in this way are capped and the covers or caps are afterwards removed therefrom a poi'- tion of the material in thecans adheres to the under surface of the cover. ,To prevent the material from projecting upwardly beyond the rim of the can when the requisite quantity or weight of material has been introduced into the can, it

has been proposed to shake the cans during the iilling operation. Although the shaking or vl- 80 bration of the cans during the lling thereof asslsts in leveling off the upper surface of the ma.-

terial in the cans, it has been found that by using valves as heretofore constructed the final or tail end portion of the material fed into the cans is .85 so large that it does not sometimes settle into and be leveled ofi with the rest of the material, even though the cans are shaken or vibrated during some cans a portion of the material projects upward beyond the rim of the can.

The object of the present invention is to pros vide can lliug machines with a valve of such construction as to cause the material fed or introduced into the cans to dwin- '45 die down to a comparativelythin tail-like end,

which will readily settle-into the upper surface of the material in the can, especially if the can is shaken or vibrated-during the lllng thereof, thereby preventing the formation of a mound of material at the center of the cans projecting upwardly'beyondthe plane passing through the uppervrim of the cans. To this end the invention consists in providing the lower end of the plunger of the valve with a downwardly projecting rod or i6 teat which functions to retain o part of the last ythe filling thereof, with the result that inV last portion of the tion. As thehead I2 like end, which although s PATENT" OFFICE it lies on the top of the 5 middlepart of the material in the can is so small as not to project upwardly beyond the rim of the lcan when the requisite quantity or weight of material has been fed into the can.

l The invention is l more fully described hereinafter and is particu- 10 larly pointed out in the appended claims. l

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the `preferred form ofthe invention, Fig. 1 is a verticallongitudinal section through a can lling machine provided with the improved valve of the 15 present invention; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section vthrough theA improved valve in open position;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal but showing the valve in is a transverse sectiontaken on the line 3; and Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a lled can; the upper portion thereof shown in section with section similar to Fig. 2,

closed position; Fig. 4

to illustrate the comparatively small tail-end por- 1 tion of the material caused to be fed into the vcan by the improved valve at the ing operation.

The improvedvalve, 'as Figs. 2, 3 and 4, comprises tion I0 slidingly received arranged sleeves or casings supported on the periphery of the terial-containing head I2 chine by means of a end of the ll- 25 `illustrated in detail in a cylindrical bodyporwithin the verticallycylindrical maof the can lling ma.-

bracket I4. The can nlling machine, as illustrated in Fig. 1, may be of any usual construction and mode of operation and 35 `comprises in general the material-containing head or receptacle I2 secured by the hub I5 to a A vertical shaft I6 journalled at its upper end in the gland I1 supported from lthe frame I8. The

disk-like bottom I9 ofI the material-containing o head is stationary and is fastened at its hub portion to a vertical sleeve 20 which serves as the central wall of the materal-containing head I2.

- At spaced intervals under the periphery of the head I2 are a series of cylinders 22 corresponding 45 to the valves and connected with the head so as to rotate therewith during the can iilling opera- With the material 23A therein rotates the material is forced under a propeller-shaped blade 24 secured to the sleeve 20, 50 and the material is thereby forced through an opening (indicated at 2| the disk I9 down into the cated under the blade 24. A s the head I2 and the in Fig. 1) formed in cylinder 22 then loparts connected there- I'I, each of which is 30 with rotate, the rolls 3|, each of which is connected with the'upper end of a valve stem I0, travel on an annular cam surface 32 which is so shaped that the lower end 33 of the valve is'held in the mouth or nozzle 34 at the lower end of each valve casing during the cylinder-lling operation. If there is a can 40 in the machine corresponding to the cylinder being iilled, the cam roll 3| travels up an incline 26 of the cam 32 and the valve is thereby lifted, permittingthe 'piston 35 operating in the cylinder 22 in question to force the material through the nozzle 34 into the can beneath it, as indicated at the right side of Fig. 1. Each piston 35 is provided with a downwardly extending part 36 carrying on its lower end a roll 31 which travels on an annular cam surface 38 .of which the high section 39 corresponds to the incline 26 of the cam 32.

If no can is in the machine opposite the cylinder being lled, the cam roll 3| does not rise up on the incline 26 and the lower end 33 of the valve remains in the nozzle. Under this condition, when the roll 31 reaches the rise 39 of the cam 38, and the piston 35 is thereby mov'ed upwardly, the material in the cylinder 22 is forced back into the head |2 through an opening 25 formed in the boss 21 projecting outwardly from the upper part of the cylinder, thence through a slot 28 cut in the inner side of the valve stem I0, and thence through the opening 29 in the wall of the head I2.4

The parts thus far described are of usual construction and mode of operation. l

At nearlythe end of the can lling operation, the valve l starts to descend, so that by the time the requisite quantity or weight of material has I been introduced intothe can under the nozzle 34 the lower end 33 of the valve has passed into the nozzle, thereby shutting off the flow of material from the cylinder 22. In order to cause the last portion of material discharged through the nozzle l 34 into the can to terminate in a thin, tapering formation, the lower end of the valve l0 is provided with` a downwardly-projecting centrallylocated cylindrical teat or pin 44. Each nozzle 34, as best indicated in Figs. 2 and 3, has a hollow center 46 which receives the lower end 33 of the valve and a restricted discharge opening 41 through which the material passes. When the Valve body I0 is in lowermost position, a space separates its lower end from the upper, shelf-like surface 45 of the lower end of the nozzle, as shown in Fig. 2. When the val-ve is in open position, as shown at the right in Fig. 1 and in Fig. 2, the teat 44 of the valve is withdrawn into the hollow portion 48 of the valve body about opposite the opening 25 leading from the cylinder 22. In order to eliminate obstruction tothe ow of material through the opening 25 from the cylinder 22 into the can the lower end 33 of each valve is cut away or bevelled, as lindicated at 49. When almost the requisite quantity or weight of material has been introduced into the can the valve descends and the lower end of the pin 44 passes into the restricted orifice 41 of the nozzle 34, and extends below it, as shown in Fig. 3. 'I'he pin is somewhat smaller in diameter than the discharge orice 41 of the nozzle so as not entirely to block up the passage of the last portion of'the material, but is adjusted in size with respect to the orifice 41 and the viscosity of the material 'discharged therethrough, so that when the requisite quantity of material has been introduced into tirely received in the can the last portion f)A thereof, as indicated in Fig. 5, will not project upwardly beyond the general upper surface 5| of the material, and in any event, will not project up beyond the upper rim 52 of the can.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new is:-

1. A valve for filling machines and the like comprising a vertically-arranged valve casing, a nozzle at the lower end. of the casing having a restricted orice at its lower end, a valve body slidably mounted in the casing and having an upper open position and a lower closed position, the lower end of the` valve body being spaced from the restricted orifice of the nozzle when the valve body is in closed position, and a member smaller than Vthe orice extending downwardly from the lower end of the valve body, said member being arranged when the valve body is vin closed position to be located in the orifice. y

2. A valve for lling machines and the like comprising -a vertically-arranged valve casing having angopening in one side for the passage of material therethrough, a nozzle at the lower end of the casing having a restricted oriiice, a valve 4 an upper position uncovering the opening and a lower position shutting off the opening-and a cylindrical pin smaller than the orice extending Vdownwardly from the lower. end of the valve body, said pin being arranged when the valve body is in lower position to project through the orifice to retain a part of the last portion of th material discharged through the orice.

3. In a machine of the character described inciuding means for holding a supply of lard-like material and means for forcing the material from the holding means, a vertically-arranged cylindrical valve casing having an opening in one side communicating with the supply of material, a nozzle at the lower end of the casing having a restricted orifice, acylindrical valve body vmounted in the casing and having an upper position uncovering the opening and a. lower position shutting off the opening, the lower end of said valve body being spaced from the orifice in the nozzle when the valve body is in lower position, and a cylindrical pin smaller than the orifice extending downwardly from the lower end of the valve body and arranged when the valve body is in its lower position to project downwardly beyond the orifice to retain the last part of the material passing through the orice.

EDWARD ROGE. 

